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I am a retired English teacher and department head, the mother of three grand mother of four, and have been married to the same man for 52 years. I subscribe to Dr. PM Forni's concept of Civility. I was born in South Philadelphia and grew up in the 'burbs. I love soft pretzels and cheesesteaks, the Phillies, the Eagles, and San Diego. I love being Mom, Aunt Kathy, Nona Kathy, and Teacher. I spend a lot of time in my gardens in the spring and summer, and in the winter I plan what I'm going to plant. I also am an avid reader and photographer.

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Monday, July 12, 2010

How Hot Was It -- And a New Hobby

We had a few days that were really unbearably hot.  But we humans weren't the only ones feeling it.  We spotted this critter and actually thought it might be dead.  It wasn't.

A couple of months ago, I posted that I'd gotten a lovely little orchid for free when I found it broken, on the floor at a local Home Depot. It's thrived since I've brought it home and is even currently sending up a new shoot. Since then I've added three more to my collection.  Three are phalaenopses, including the first and the last one: the yellow.  The other, with the single dark purple flower, is a red dendrobium actually growing out of a piece of wood.

Contrary to popular belief, orchids are easy to care for. They eschew fussing over, and in fact, the single most common cause of failure is over watering. They love filtered light and cooler temperatures, bloom in the winter, and love being pot bound. In the words of Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, "How easy is that?"

16 comments:

Mage said...

Delightful dead animal....LOL I wonder if it was cooler there.

Love the orchids. :)

Jay said...

Maybe you could put out a glass of lemonade or ice tea for that squirrel to drink while he's relaxing in the evening sun. ;-)

Kimberly said...

Ok - good to know. Thanks. We received one as a house warming present - it bloomed then (January) but has not since. The leaves are nice and green and it looks fine - just no blooms. Maybe this winter....

Seth M. Ward said...

Did you offer him a drink? That would have been the proper thing to do:D Loved the info on the Orchids:D

Linda said...

Orchids, wow! Hadn't thought about growing orchids. What a great hobby. I don't have the space or the right lighting but that's a wonderful hobby.

Gulf Coast said...

I have come across a squirrel looking dead as well. They stay amazingly still for the longest time giving the assumption that it is dead. Weird!

congrats on being a survivor.

Brad said...

Hey! That must be the computer upstairs (in the last pic) where you tippity-tap-type to me!! I like being able to see peoples work area. Yes, I'm odd. So what?

Sweet Virginia Breeze said...

That squirrel is really coolin' it! Very cute.

Anonymous said...

Our grocery store has orchids in bloom every week. I've been tempted to bring one home..

OH, hey... Your town made it on the 'best places to live in America'. How about that! Woo Hoo!!!

Di

George said...

The orchids are beautiful. You obviously have a green thumb. It must be hot for the squirrel to sprawl out like that.

Cheryl said...

The orchids are beautiful.

They wouldn't let me buy or take any of the things in the throw away area of Home Depot in the spring. What a waste. You were lucky and I wasn't. I'm glad one of us was.

Jesson Balaoing said...

Thanks for sharing, nice post!

Gilly said...

My orchids died. I am not good with pot plants. Full stop. :(

happyone said...

Funny photo of the squirrel!
Your orchids are beautiful.

Lena said...

I have never seen a squirl lay still like that!

Your orchids are beautiful. What a wonderful hobby. I have always been a little leery of orchids because I thought it was very complicated to care for them. Thanks for the tips.

Ruth Hull Chatlien said...

I love the squirrel photo.

As Lena said, I always assumed orchids were difficult to care for. It was interesting to learn that they aren't.